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Old Man and the Sea

In the novel The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway uses the literary device of metaphors. Hemingway uses the metaphor of the ocean to symbolize life, and to depict the role that individuals play in life. Hemingway uses the metaphor of the lions to signify people who live their lives as active participants. The tourists in the novel represent the individuals, who in observe their lives and are not active participants. In the novels that Ernest Hemingway writes, he uses metaphors to reflect his life experiences and opinions. The ocean in The Old Man and the Sea is a metaphor, which represents Hemingway's personal view of life. Hemingway believes that in life everyone must find their own niche and uses the metaphor of the ocean and the boats on it to demonstrate this. "Most of the boats were silent except for the dip of the oars. They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbor and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out..."(page 22) Hemingway feels that in life there are people who participate in life and people who observe life as it passes just like on the ocean where there are boats that do not test their boundaries. The boats are the people in life, and most of the boats are silent. They paddle within the areas they know to be safe and always are cautious not to upset the life that they have established for themselves. Hemingway is explaining that most people don't raise a commotion, they just allow life to happen to them. The old man is testing his limits, he is challenging the ocean, and rowing where he wants to go, not where the ocean wants to take him. Hemingway believes that in life, the farther a person stays from the observers, the more free and exhilarated they will be. "If there is a hurricane, you always see the signs of it in the sky for days ahead, if you are at sea. They do not see it ashore because they do not know what to look for, he thought. The land must...

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...OldMan and The Sea - Rough Draft
Human beings need to live in a group where everyone respects them and treats them equally. No human being can live alone isolated from other people because one hand can not clap by itself. In The OldMan and The Sea, the author uses setting, character and symbolism to show that people who society perceives as different are usually isolated. Once one is able to discover the reason of their existence, they are able to accept themselves in order to fulfill their goals.
Through settings the reader understands that society isolates people who are considered to be different. The first thing that shows us the isolation of the oldman is the picture that Hemingway has drawn of the old man's shack. He describes it as: "went through its open door and in it there was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal." (p. 15) Also Hemingway shows that Santiago, the oldman, feels his isolation through "Once there had been a tinted photograph of his wife on the wall, but he had taken it down because it made him to lonely to see it." (p. 16) Everything in the old man's shack gave a feeling of his loneliness and isolation, such as his one bed, one table, one chair, and his wife's picture that he did not stand to look at so he took it down. The open...

...Matthew Goodrich
Mr Call
16,9, 2012
OldMan and The Sea Essay
The OldMan and The Sea was one of the last great works of Ernest Hemingway and was written as a way to come to terms with his old age. A hero is defined as a man who is of distinguished courage or admired for his ability and brave deeds. The OldMan mirrors Hemingway’s ideal man, who is coming into his old age. Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21st 1899 and was an American author and journalist. His writing style was severely under rated. His adventurous life greatly influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his works during the 1920s and 50s. He wrote seven novels, six short stories, and two non-fiction works. Several books of his were published after death. Many of his works are considered American Classics in literature. The OldMan is a kind, confident and determined man. Although Santiago is old, he asserts himself through fishing by imbuing his acts with a brotherly love and a desire to remain stoic no matter his hard ships.
While the OldMan lives in relative seclusion, he gives his life meaning through fishing. He creates this meaning by imbuing his work with a brutally intense focus. Santiago’s determination and...

...The OldMan and the Sea
“A man is never lost at sea...” (P. 89, l.15)
Ernest Hemingway brought home a Pulitzer Prize for the literary piece about a poor fisherman’s quest to
gain power and individuality through a fight between a man and a marlin.
While creating an analysis and interpretation of “The OldMan and the Sea,” it is important to put a focus
on the main character’s internal struggle, the major themes, and the biblical involvement during the story,
while also noticing the specific symbolism in order to draw out a specific message from the novel.
When Hemingway began his writing career, his writing was a result of his journalistic background. His
writing is very minimalistic and plain, where he focuses more on telling rather than showing. He uses a
style that is characterized by simple sentences and very few adverbs and adjectives. Some might say that
his writing style lacks substance as he avoids direct statements and descriptions of emotions, while others
believe that it gives the reader a better change to interpret Hemingway’s stories.
“The OldMan and the Sea,” by Ernest Hemingway, all-time American author, is written in 1951, and
tells the story of an epic and internal struggle between an old fisherman and the greatest fight for his life:
the catch of the enormous...

...Reading through the novel The OldMan and the Sea one, as a reader, can perceive several themes in the book. Hemingway suggests certain subjects for discussion which built up the whole plot, therefore giving us options to choose the one we believe is the main one. In the past weeks we have been discussing, in a debate, which is that main theme. My group's theme was "Man Defeated" and although it is hard to affirm that this theme was the prevailing one of the book, we firmly defend it. Various arguments were established. Some argued that the novel's theme was Santiago's struggle, the friendship with the fish and other characters; Santiago's perseverance and that he really ended up as a triumphant man. But to argue that those were also the main themes of the book is also a difficult thing to do. Even though Santiago fought and kept on with his struggle to catch the fish, he was defeated because he lost it at the end.
Defeat, according to the Larousse Chambers English Dictionary, is when you are overthrown in a battle, you lose a game and therefore you don't win: you don't gain or reach your goal. As we can see Santiago, in spite of the fact that he persevered and struggled, starving, for three days lost the battle. He couldn't get to his main goal. But , exactly what was his goal, one may ask? He wanted the fish, he was not fishing as a hobby or sport; he planned to sell the fish and get some money to...

..."The OldMan and the Sea" is a heroic tale of mans strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a tale about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the "OldMan and the Sea" strives to teach important life lessons to the reader.
The relationship between the oldman and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other young, yet they share an insuperable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy but rather as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago's feelings. He even offers to go against his parent's wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish for more than eighty-four days and is therefore "unlucky". Nonetheless Manolin is loyal to Santiago and even when his parents forbid him he wants to help his friend.
Their conversations are comfortable, like that of two friends who have known each other for their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things they have most in common. Their...

...in Hemingway's OldMan and The Sea
&#9;In our world today we are constantly bombarded with messages of illusion and falsity, however the states in which people travel through their lives differ. Some people are suspended in a state of illusion for all their lives, only realizing their potential on their deathbed. Others have their illusions stolen from them as a child and are brought up in a world without magic and fanciful ideas. For most, we discover this passage from illusion to disillusion at a time in our lives when we need it most. Quite simply, one cannot lead a happy and productive adult life when one is oblivious to the truths of this world. This does not mean, however, that the perfect life is one free from illusions, hopes and dreams. Ideally through the process of disillusionment one will learn the importance of their dreams and hold on to the ones that make them most productive. In Hemingway's novel, The OldMan and The Sea, the main character Santiago needs this rite of passage to define and seal his destiny, and to truly understand and believe in himself. It is through this journey that he establishes limits and boundaries on the illusions he holds onto ritualistically, and yet opens himself up to the larger possibilities of life at the same time. He goes through very obvious and specific stages in his struggle, in a world of illusion, through the sacrifice and...

...From What Simple Things Come
Why is it that everything in life has to have a conflict? Whether it is good or bad, something has to trigger it. In The OldMan in the Sea, a character, named Santiago, fell into a conflict of inadequate proportions. He went out into the sea, searching to find something that might take his life complete, to maybe find some serenity. Not only did he find it, but there was a catch. Was Santiago strong enough to keep it? Was he strong enough to take on the beasts in the water?
Santiago caught a fish, not only the fish that he would have waited eighty-five days for, but a fish in such gigantic means that he could have waited a lifetime. All Santiago needed was a little hope and encouragement to help him on his quest. Santiago found comfort in the animals surrounding, such as the fish, the birds, and the turtles.
&#8220;He was very fond of flying fish as they were his principal friends in the ocean&#8221; (29.) It was that the ocean was just like him, lonely and isolated. It was a comforting thought that these animals were always there with him, as if they were guiding him throughout his quest. These fish were companions to Santiago, they made him feel as if there was always someone there, always watching. He watched the flying fish burst out again and again and the ineffectual movements of the bird. &#8220;That school has gotten away from me, he thought. They are...

...novel, The OldMan and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway creates connections between Santiago and Jesus Christ that adds religious coloration to the story.
Santiago can be compared to a Christ figure on the basis of his relationships with other characters in the novel. People look up to Santiago, as would a follower to Christ, hereby setting up a comparison between the two. (transition) Since the age of five, Manolin has aided the oldman by working alongside him as an apprentice. Manolin is loyal to Santiago and looks up to him as if Santiago was his real father. According to Delbert Wylder, "Santiago has, in a sense been the boy's spiritual father" ( 219). Manolin is in awe of the oldman, who the town recognizes as an honorable fisherman. The boy states, "There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only you." Like Santiago, Christ was also a spiritual father to his town; the town of Bethlehem. He performed miracles to heal the sick, and fed thousands of starving people. As Jim Auer says, "This demonstrates Santiago's relation to Christ. They are both extremely unique, and were father figures in their communities" (15). ?The people of Bethlehem looked up to Christ as a father figure, and they had love and admiration towards him.? Likewise, "The love of Manolin for Santiago is that of a discipline for a master in the arts of fishing, it is also...